SIDCO DIVERS FINALLY CONFIRM IDENTITY OF LOST
TANKER, AFTER FIFTEEN YEARS OF RESEARCH AND SEVEN DECADES IN HISTORY!

SIDCO divers have finally confirmed the identity of another ship involved
in the mystery of The Lost Tankers. On July 12, 2014, divers from
SIDCO (Surface Interval Diving Company) discovered all three masts
on the wreck once called “hutton”. This is important, because out of three
possible tankers, only S. S. Ario was fitted with three
masts. W. E. Hutton and S. S. Papoose both only had two
masts, as did the other tankers associated with this misidentification.
The shipwreck, once called “hutton” is, in fact, S. S. Ario. We
also now know that the other associated wreck, lying offshore of S. S.
Ario, is now confirmed to be W. E. Hutton. The war diaries of
U-boat commander, Johan Mohr of U-124, who torpedoed W. E. Hutton
on March 18, 1942, have confirmed that he watched Hutton sink in
130 feet of seawater. S. S. Ario lies in 70 feet of water. These
records from U-124 prove that the wreck now identified as Ario, can
not be Hutton.

Very few “T2” tankers
sunk in WWII off North Carolina had three masts, perhaps as few as two or
three. Ario and Dixie Arrow were two of these ships equipped
with a third mast. During the dives, SIDCO divers compiled high-definition
video of all three masts from several different cameras as well as other
features of the wreck. SIDCO’s research on this wreck has been underway
since 1998, when Paul Branch, Fort Macon State Park, discovered the error
in identification records and contacted SIDCO with the information.

Dives will continue on
this site to complete an archaeological site map and full video survey of
the entire wreck.

SIDCO President, Rob
Smith is currently compiling a book about the misidentified vessels and
the search for the truth, which should be out in a year or so. The book
will be entitled The Lost Tankers, and will include a great deal of
information, not only about the tankers, but also about the German U-boats
that sank them.

SIDCO VP Bobby Willis
says diving will continue on this wreck for at least one more dive season
to complete the archaeological site map and other work.